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Police find 1,200 lbs of pot in Grass Lake

Wed, 11/07/2007 - 16:16 by MT Bureau

Jackson, Mich. -- Michigan State Police have announced their third major drug bust of the year along Interstate 94 in Grass Lake Township.

A trooper found 1,200 pounds of marijuana in packets hidden among sports drinks being transported by a semi -rig driver stopped for a missing tail light Sunday, the Jackson (Mich.) Citizen-Patriot reported Tuesday.

Detective 1st Lt. Timothy Gill told a news conference on Monday the $1.2 million bust was "the traffic stop of a lifetime."

The Tuscon, Ariz., owner/operator of the truck could face 15 years if convicted of possession with intent to deliver more than 45 kilograms of marijuana, officials said.

In nearly the same spot earlier this year, troopers found 220 pounds of cocaine hidden among a semi's lettuce cargo and yet another stop yielded 132 pounds of high-grade Canadian marijuana.

Youngsters' names displayed in space

Wed, 11/07/2007 - 16:14 by MT Bureau

California, Ky. -- Students at a Kentucky school are part of a worldwide group of children whose digitized banners with their names are now 235 miles above their heads in space.

The banner carrying the names of 187 students at Sts. Peter and Paul School in California, Ky., and 550 other banners around the world, were chosen to fly aboard the shuttle Discovery's STS-120 mission to the International Space Station, The Cincinnati Post reported Monday.

The hand-made banners, which were digitized for their space trip, are part of the "Signatures in Space" program, sponsored by NASA and Lockheed Martin Corp. The program aims to increase young children's interest in science. Once the shuttle returns to Earth, the banners will be returned to the school along with a photograph of the seven-member shuttle crew.

Topless fish store workers among odd laws

Wed, 11/07/2007 - 16:13 by MT Bureau

Liverpool, England -- A recent survey ranks a reputed law allowing female tropical fish store employees to go topless among the stupidest legislation currently in place in Britain.

The TV channel UKTV Gold said an alleged Liverpool bylaw allowing topless female employees in pet stores came in a respectful third place on its public survey regarding the most absurd British laws, The Daily Telegraph reported Tuesday.

But a Liverpool City Council spokesman denies such a law exists, calling the revealing legislation a mere urban myth that gained some notoriety.

While topless fish saleswomen likely gets most people's attention, it was beaten out on the list by laws dealing with misplaced stamps and untimely deaths in Parliament.

Coming in second on the survey was a law that said placing a stamp bearing the image of the ruling British monarch upside down on an envelope represented an act of treason.

Gender drives car buying

Tue, 11/06/2007 - 13:59 by MT Bureau

Southfield, Mich. -- If a truck’s built "Ford tough," chances are it’s owned by a man; but with a sunflower-yellow VW, expect to see a female at the wheel, market researchers say.

"Some cars are more masculine or feminine by nature," Jim Hossick, vice president of AutoPacific, an auto industry market research firm, told Forbes.com.

The firm found that nine of 10 heavy-duty pickup trucks, like Chevrolet’s Silverado, are owned by men, while women trend toward Saturn, Honda and Volkswagen vehicles, Forbes.com reported.

The auto gender disparities result from marketing and design. While auto manufacturers often try to accommodate both genders, features like hefty door handles on, say, the Dodge Ram, accommodate men’s gloved hands, making those vehicles more appealing to big guys. Ads featuring truck-driving cowboys add to the male momentum.

Santa slims down for the holidays

Tue, 11/06/2007 - 13:53 by MT Bureau

London -- A shopping center in Britain has instituted a Santa Claus Boot Camp to press the importance of getting in shape over the holiday season.

The decision was made after a report was released in early November that said by 2050 more than 50 percent of British people will be obese, The Daily Mail reported Monday.

Fiona Campbell-Reilly, spokeswoman at the Bluewater shopping center in Greenhithe, Kent, said, "Santa has been around for years, but society has changed and our Santa needs to reflect this.

"Bluewater's Santa Boot Camp is getting Santa in shape and setting a good example to children who idolize him," she added. "He will still be the same lovable jolly man, but will be fitter and healthier."

© 2007 United Press International.

Rescuers discover $25,000 in pot

Tue, 11/06/2007 - 13:22 by MT Bureau

Bridal Veil, Ore. -- Rescuers searching for two missing hikers near Bridal Veil, Ore., have discovered $25,000 worth of marijuana in bags.

Multnomah County sheriff's deputies said they were searching for two hikers who had phoned for help after falling in a creek when a group of teenage volunteers came across three men and a woman toting duffle bags, KPTV-TV, Portland, Ore., reported Monday.

Deputies said the four dropped the bags and fled the scene when they were noticed by the search party and the teenagers discovered $25,000 worth of marijuana in the bags.

Officials said deputies were unable to find the four suspects, but the hikers were located Sunday and appeared to be in good condition.

© 2007 United Press International.

Son found alive after funeral

Tue, 11/06/2007 - 13:20 by MT Bureau

Manchester, England -- A British woman who had a funeral for a man she believed to be her son has discovered that her child is still alive.

Gina Partington identified a body as her son, Thomas Dennison, and had the corpse cremated, the Manchester Evening News reported Monday. However, the day after the cremation, police called her to say her son -- still living -- had been found by police in Nottingham.

“(Police) said a person man was in custody in Nottingham and asked me for three questions which only my son would know the answer to," Partington said.

“They also showed me a picture of the man in Nottingham -- been taken two days earlier -- and it was my son. I then spoke to him on the phone and I kept asking him was the name of my mum to convince myself it was him. But I still couldn’t believe it.

'Privy prop' designer on 'Ellen'

Tue, 11/06/2007 - 13:19 by MT Bureau

Odebolt, Iowa -- A 9-year-old from Odebolt, Iowa, is receiving praise for inventing the "Privy Prop," which uses a pedal to lift or close the toilet seat.

Jake Wulf's invention even caught the eye of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," which invited him to demonstrate the invention in television, The Sioux City (S.D.) Journal reported Monday.

The foot-activated toilet seat lifter was thought up by Jake to solve a little problem that he has had his whole life.

"He's done this (left the seat up) pretty much all his life," his mother, Beth Wulf, said to the Journal. "He's in too big a hurry to take care of that. He's been reminded thousands of times over the years."

So the 9-year-old was inspired to invent this issue away.

"My mom was getting mad at me for forgetting to put the toilet seat down and she was falling in," Jake old the newspaper. He added that his main inspiration was a trash can with a pedal that he spotted while at the doctors office.

Thousands in China are named Olympics

Tue, 11/06/2007 - 13:17 by MT Bureau

Beijing -- A Chinese Web site says nearly 3,600 people in the world's most populous nation share the name of Aoyun, which translates to Olympics in English.

In addition, some 4,100 residents have names that translate to Beijing Olympic Games, The China Daily reported Monday.

The newspaper says a recent survey predicts there will be an increase next year in the number of people named Olympics as more Chinese couples try to give birth when opening ceremonies begin in Beijing on Aug. 8.

Repetition is a big problem facing parents in China when it comes to selecting names for their offspring, the newspaper says.

Hoping to have their child stand out, one couple tried to name their baby "@," saying in Mandarin the symbol sounded like "love him."

That's not pot, that's my monkey

Tue, 11/06/2007 - 13:15 by MT Bureau

Pittsburgh -- Two monkeys stolen early Monday morning have been returned to their Washington County, Pa., owner, Grant L. Kemmerer III.

Kemmerer said widespread media reporting was to be credited for the safe return of the rare primates, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

He said he received a phone call from a woman who would not give her name or phone number, but wanted to make arrangements to return the spot-nose guenon and a mon guenon.

The woman was accompanied by a teenaged boy and simply handed over the Monkeys.

"Apparently teenaged boys had heard that there was marijuana growing in my greenhouse," Kemmerer said, basing his speculation on what the woman told him. "We use the greenhouse to grow tropical plants" to feed the exotic animals whose nutritional needs cannot be met by local grocery or pet stores.

Couple from Hell wins Halloween lottery

Tue, 11/06/2007 - 13:14 by MT Bureau

Hell, Mich. -- John and Sue Wilson from Hell, Mich., won a $115,001 lottery on one of the year's scariest days, Halloween.

The couple won a Fantasy 5 prize Wednesday, the Livingston (Mich.) Daily Press & Argus reported.

They didn’t realize that their drawing had been held on Halloween until they claimed their prize two days later.

"How cool is that?" Sue Wilson, 43, told the newspaper. "We live in Hell and won it on Halloween."

The couple said the money would go towards bills, home projects and a Nintendo Wii video game console for their 13-year-old son.

"It's not $200 million or anything -- it's not going to change our life, but it's ... something to say, 'OK, we're going to have a good Christmas,'" said John Wilson, who is an electrician.

Caltech takes a break for olive harvest

Tue, 11/06/2007 - 13:11 by MT Bureau

Pasadena, Calif. -- Students and teachers at Caltech in Pasadena, Calif., put aside their studies to harvest olive trees for the oil.

The pseudo-festival started after the school's president, Jean-Lou Chameau, promised some students a home cooked meal if they produced a batch of olive oil, the Los Angeles Times reported.

It was continued Friday as more than five hundred students and faculty members climbed 16-foot-high ladders and rode a couple of cherry-pickers to snag the black and green fruit from about 70 trees.

"It's not really just about the olives. It's about everyone working together," said freshman Tim Black, a math major from Wisconsin.

Festival organizers said about a ton of olives were harvested from the 80-year-old, 45-foot-tall trees.